I bought this game only a few days ago on Steam as part of a heavily discounted indie bundle. It was a game that I had had my eye on for a short amount of time; after all, I enjoyed Telltale’s Sam and Max games (back when I played them on Gametap) and I’ve gotten to spend a bit of time with their new Monkey Island games.
This game is…short. Steam tells me that I’ve played it for 5 hours, and I’m sure more than 30 minutes of that was while the game was paused as I was feeding or changing or cuddling Simon.
But that’s really the only criticism I’d put against it. I don’t even mind that much because I got it at such a steep discount, though I might feel a bit more guff if I had paid a full $10 for it.
The game has a really interesting feel and vibe. It somehow treads that territory (that perhaps no one knew existed) between the joy, frustration, and whimsy of Professor Layton and the somewhat ominous storytelling undertones of Twin Peaks and Alan Wake. It’s a strange yet compelling short story with puzzles interjected in it.
And if you’re into that kind of thing, it’s great fun. If you’re not, it’s strange and possibly frustrating and almost certainly not rewarding enough. Luckily, I’m into that kind of thing.
(Footnote: no huge spoilers in this post, as I don’t think there’s really any need to discuss much of the plot. I will say that the puzzles that get interrupted by gnomes managed to surprise, terrify, and delight me all at once.)